Call of the Curlew

The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is one of the UK’s most iconic and threatened wading birds, with breeding populations in steep decline due to habitat loss, predation and hydrological change. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working on a new exciting project, ‘The Call of the Curlew’ and we are gathering curlew records to help us:

• Protect and enhance floodplain meadows and curlew by establishing a Curlew Recovery Task Force (farmers, volunteers, local community).
• Research and reverse the decline in Curlew and for the regeneration of floodplain meadows using evidence-based monitoring. 

The Eurasian Curlew is one of the UK’s most iconic and threatened wading birds, with breeding populations in steep decline due to habitat loss, predation, agricultural intensification and hydrological change. Lowland floodplain meadows – once a stronghold for nesting curlew – now host only a fraction of their former populations. 

According to the State of Yorkshire’s Nature report (2024):

• Lowland Yorkshire was once much wetter: over 80% of our wetlands have been lost by drainage and river canalisation –leading to a decline in the English breeding population of Eurasian Curlew.
• Nearly half of Yorkshire’s rivers have been physically modified: by canalisation, dredging and the construction of weirs and other obstructions. These changes prevent fish from moving within the river network and also separate the river from its floodplain. This leads to loss of wetlands, reduces carbon storage on the land and exacerbates flooding downstream. 

The River Ouse is an important convergence zone for the upland rivers of the Yorkshire Dales (including the Ure and the Wharfe) and North York Moors.  The rivers and their associated floodplain habitats provide important corridors for species movement.  However, they are threatened by water quality issues and changes in management practices. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust received funding from Yorkshire Water’s Biodiversity Enhancement Programme for a 15-month project, ‘Call of the Curlew,’ which working in partnership, will protect and enhance floodplain meadows and Eurasian Curlew by:

1. Establishing a Curlew Recovery Task Force (farmers, volunteers, local community).
2. Undertake and enable evidence-based monitoring, research and innovation essential for reducing the decline in Curlew and for the regeneration of floodplain meadows.            
3. Support adaptive management of floodplain meadows to create a network of wader-friendly habitat.

For more information please conatct Claire Burton claire.burton@ywt.org.uk or John Thomson john.thomson@ywt.org.uk